STAVANGER, Norway, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Natural gas must be a key component of the European effort to find cleaner and more secure forms of energy, Norwegian energy company Statoil said.
"Natural gas is key to solving Europe's energy challenges going forward, delivering on cost competitiveness, security of supply and the climate challenge," Rune Bjornson, Statoil's senior vice president for natural gas, said in a statement.
Europe is looking for new sources of natural gas in an effort to break the Russian grip on the energy sector. Statoil, a regional gas supplier for the last 30 years, is looking for new resources by developing the Norwegian continental shelf.
Natural gas is one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels available, which Statoil said means good things for the environment and energy security among EU member states.
"In our view natural gas should have a key role to play in EU's long-term energy mix as it is an affordable, abundant and a low carbon fossil fuel," added Bjornson.
Statoil is one of the leading suppliers of natural gas to Europe.
